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East Asia
Annual lantern festival under way with 30,000 lamps lighting up central Seoul
The annual Seoul Lantern Festival kicks off in central Seoul on Novemver 1, with 30,000 colored lanterns lighting up Cheonggye Stream in central Seoul. Seoul Metropolitan Government unveiled program details of the lantern festival to be held for 17 days from Friday. The organizing committee of the 2013 Seoul Lantern…
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East Asia
Chinese police follow 8 suspects of Tiananmen attack that killed 5 people
Chinese police are circulating a list of eight suspects wanted in connection with an apparent suicide car attack near Tiananmen Square in Beijing that killed five people and injured dozens, a hotel manager said Wednesday. Seven of the eight suspects on the list had names typical of the Turkic Muslim…
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Emergence of market economy in North Korea
What can we learn from the dramatic transformation that North Korea has undergone in the last two decades? I am afraid that many of my readers might not like my conclusions, but for me, the last two decades are another confirmation that markets and trade are all too natural for…
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East Asia
Japanese lawmakers visit Yasukuni Shrine amid protests from China
About 160 Japanese lawmakers from a nonpartisan group on Friday morning worshipped the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine during its autumn festival, according to local media. Japanese Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Yoshitaka Shindo also paid a visit to the controversial shrine earlier the day, after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday…
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East Asia
Philippine President Aquino III visits S. Korea to discuss trade, investment
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III begins a two-day state visit to South Korea on Oct 17 to discuss trade, investment and defense cooperation. It wasn’t clear on Wednesday whether the trip would even take place, as President Aquino rushed to the central Philippines to inspect heavy damage from Tuesday’s 7.2-magnitude…
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East Asia
Xi Jinping visits Malaysia in China’s charm offensive for southeast Asia
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak met here Friday to discuss bilateral ties and further development of China’s relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). They also had an in-depth exchange of views on other major regional and international issues. After the meeting, the…
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East Asia
Myths and facts about North Korea’s Great Famine in 1990s
When it comes to North Korea, one of the most common clichés is a reference to the 1996-99 famine which, as we are told, “killed two or three million people”. This figure has been repeated countless times, and few people are aware where it comes from. Even fewer people know…
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East Asia
2013 Canal Kylin International Music Festival held in Beijing Oct. 1-3
During the National Holidays, the 2013 Canal Kylin International Music Festival is being held at Tongzhou Canal Park in China’s capital Beijing. From October 1-3, six stages will play host to dozens of top domestic and international acts including Cui Jian, Tang Dynasty, Black Panther, Hanggai and Miserable Faith.
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East Asia
Chinese pupils form a smiling face to celebrate National Day in Wuyuan
Pupils of the Taibai Central Primary School form a smiling face to celebrate the National Day in Wuyuan County, east China’s Jiangxi Province, Sept. 29, 2013. The People’s Republic of China will celebrate the 64th anniversary of its founding on Oct. 1. (NEWSis/Xinhua)
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East Asia
US Defence Secretary Hagel in S. Korea for talks on transfer of military control
Amid escalating threats from North Korea, U.S. and South Korean defense officials will meet over the next few days and discuss whether to extend America’s wartime control over the South’s armed forces, 60 years after a truce ended the Korean War. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel flew to Seoul on Sunday,…
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